


The NEXUS

by Fush0843



Category: Original Work
Genre: Driders, Druids, Dwarves, Elves, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Futanari, Halflings, Lamiae, MMORPGs, Monsters, Multi, Other, Role-Playing Game, VRMMORPG, Vampires, Virtual Reality, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-19 18:38:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19138408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fush0843/pseuds/Fush0843
Summary: A young girl loses what matters most to her in the whole world and will do whatever it takes to get it back. Including play a really sexy videogame.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hello perverts! I have wanted to make a story like this for a long time but never got round to starting it. well thats all changed, hopefully in the next few weeks when i finifh college for the summer I can focus on writing more chapters for stories including this one. Enjoy! Also please keep in mind that what i am trying to do in this story is essentially create an entire MMORPG from scratch by myself, as you can probably guess i have no idea about anything to do with the subject so there may be things in the story that make very little sense.

_History and plot dump._

 

The NEXUS is and has been a massively popular VRMMO game for decades since its release in 2163, although its 18+ rating was challenged globally, the governing bodies and experienced players alike deemed that the age limit would stand. I guess you should expect that from a game so immersive that you could fuck someone in the game and provided they had the equipment they could feel it IRL, the game itself, staying true to MMO fashion, is fantasy rather than science fiction. The price for the basic equipment and rig to access the game has stayed at £1 (or the equivalent) since it’s release, making all of its money from cosmetics and the occasional rich kid buying the suit, thankfully the developers refused to allow a micro transaction that could buy in game currency as they felt that would be too pay to win, all items in the game such as armour, weapons, skills, loot and resources are earned, not bought. Obviously there were some who disagreed with the developer’s refusal to take advantage of the possibilities but those few mega corporations were swiftly defeated. Nowadays the only threat to the NEXUS are the very rare and occasional cheater who gets found and banned within a couple of days and toxic players who regrettably get 1 warning before they are banned, but once they are, their character is deleted and IP blocked. In case you’re wondering how I know all of this my big brother was one of the main developers, the other was his best friend who he had known for years before I was born, the two of them set up their own company and the NEXUS was their first big project.

The headset for the NEXUS was a simple visor headset combination, the headset plugged into a computer that was connected to the servers and you could join and play, the head set used sound waves to tap into the brain allowing players to feel everything their character felt at the cost of rendering their physical body immobile, the solution to this problem was a live feed of what you would be looking at in the form of a miniature screen in game, allowing players to check what was happening in the real world. There have been improvements made over the years obviously, as technology became better so did the game, this is partly due to that every 5 years the servers automatically shut down for important updates such as change in mechanics, expansions/DLC or major patches, also the servers are closed on Sundays to make sure people don’t spend every single day in the game.

Before I continue I should probably give you a little more context, my name is Seras, it was given to me by my brother, you see our mum became very ill while pregnant with me, it is unknown to this day what caused it but she died shortly after I was born, as for a father he wasn’t there, apparently he and mum divorced when she found out she was pregnant and he ran off with another woman, so I’ve spent my life up until recently with my big brother, by the time I was born he was already ridiculously rich so he had no problem looking after me financially, I know now though that it was insanely hard for him to raise me, he was only 23 when mum died and hadn’t had a girlfriend yet, he told me often that all the girls he dated either only wanted him for his money or weren’t actually interested in him. I learned very early on that brother was depressed and that I was the only thing he had that was worth living for, so I did my best to make him happy, I played games with him, I watched him work, we did everything together, he would help me with school work whenever I was stuck and would console me when my friends were being hurtful, until one day I noticed he was acting strange, he was talking on the phone with his friend regularly and spending more and more time on his computer, he kept telling me he had to try and fix things and I was told to play with the maids that he hired to tend to the house. One night I was in bed trying to get to sleep when I heard brothers’ voice on the phone, here is what I heard:

 

“This is bad James; she’s already tried to buy us out and is you’re saying she knows about the harmonic too! You know for a fact she’ll be after us now, we should have just started over and removed the damned things … I don’t care if we would have lost everything! I don’t care I about the money! We were the only 2 people who knew about this and now she knows she’ll be coming for us! … You need to hide, find somewhere where she won’t find you, go off grid; I’ll contact you through the old channels if anything happens.”

 

I was only 12 at the time so I didn’t fully understand what he was talking about, from that day on he seemed to be back to normal, we were playing together again and having fun, though at night he would stay up late working at his computer, he didn’t see me in the hallway, he was too busy. Then on my 13th Birthday he woke me up early, which was unusual as normally I wake him up, he told me he had a surprise, not knowing any better I was excited to say the least, we went downstairs into the lounge where 2 presents sat on the coffee table, we sat down on the couch and he handed me the right hand present.

 

“Open this one first sneaky, the other ones more important.”

 

“Okay big brother.”

 

I quickly unwrapped the present to find a tablet, the screen was 10” by 7” and was ¼” thick, as I picked it up the screen came on that prompted me to provide a retina scan, once given the screen showed a multitude of apps already downloaded.

 

“I’ve had this tablet personally designed for you Seras, only your retina can access it, as you can see I’ve also added important apps such as banking, I’ve set you up an account with some money I didn’t need, there are contacts for me and all of the staff in case you need to contact any of us, there also some of your favourite games on there as well as my own personal guide to the NEXUS, I know you’ve been wanting to play it for a long time but I figured until you turn 18 you can learn all about it in the mean time. You’ll also find internet access with all of your favourite websites and videos; tell me if I’ve missed anything.”

 

“Wow big brother this is amazing, I couldn’t have asked for anything more! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

 

“Woah there, settle down sneaky, there’s still you’re other present. (He hands me the other present) Now remember I told you this was more important (I nod and open the present, finding a strange, old looking device) that is a pager, it was used l over a century ago to send private messages to people, I’ve managed to find some and restore them, this pager can send messages to either myself or James wherever we are in the world but they should only be used in an emergency, okay? I hope you won’t have to use it.”

 

I look up at him and nod solemnly, we then spend most of the day playing with my new tablet before he had to go do some work, my evening was spent reading up on the NEXUS thinking about how my big brother actually came up with all this stuff. Over the next 2 weeks things seemed to be fine school was easy (it tends to be when your sibling is super smart) and home was full of playing and reading, one night before I was going to be put to bed something started beeping, my brother started fidgeting until he brought out his own pager, a look of sheer terror crossed his face.

 

“SARAH! (Our head maid came rushing into the lounge) Take Seras down to the garage, you’ll find a car stocked with money, passports, food and water, everything you need, the Sat Nav should take you to a safe house do not leave until I or James tells you to, he can contact Seras. (He kneels down to look at me) Seras, I need you to go with Sarah, don’t worry about me just follow Sarah, do as you’re told and don’t forget, I love you little sister.. more than anything … GO NOW!”

 

Sarah grabbed my hand and we ran, through the house down some stairs and into a large garage where a car was waiting, Sarah put me into the passenger seat then got in and drove away.

 

“What’s going on Sarah? Why are we leaving big brother!?”

 

“I’m sorry little miss, but I can’t tell you until we are safe, it’s better that you don’t know.”

 

The journey took a long time; we were driving for 100’s of miles in nigh complete silence. I wanted to message brother but Sarah said I couldn’t, she said it might make things worse, so to try and keep my mind off of it I listened to my music, it didn’t really help, whenever I tried not to think of my brother I thought of my friends from school I was leaving behind, I dint even get to say goodbye. We had been driving most of the night and I had fallen asleep, when I woke up I was in a bed with Sarah lying next to me, without waking her up I climbed out of bed and went downstairs the house was old, nothing like our estate, there was a fireplace with wood logs, the furniture was wooden and the windows were just normal glass, there was a TV thankfully so I switched it on.

**“Breaking News! The private estate of millionaire Damien Vic was broken into last night, it is unknown at this time if anything of value was taken. Blood belonging to Damien Vic was discovered at the crime scene however no body has been found; additionally his sister is missing presumed dead.”**

Words cannot describe what I felt at that moment; they were showing footage of our house, the windows were smashed, furniture was turned over, there were bullet holes all over and worst of all there was blood all over the place, the only solace I could find is that there was no body recovered, meaning that there was a slim chance he was still alive. I didn’t know how long a knelt there, by the time Sarah found me I couldn’t cry anymore. The times that followed were the hardest of my life, the house we ran too turned out to be my grandparents’ house which explains why everything was so old, I shouldn’t disrespect them when I never had a chance to meet them, the house was unbelievably secluded, the nearest human contact being some 20 miles away in the form of a rural yet developing village.

 

For the next 5 years Sarah and I lived together in my grandparent’s old house, I finished my education in the closest high school, for the most part we appeared like a single mother raising a teenage daughter on her own, among the supplies packed into the car was £100,000 in cash so we had plenty of money, Sarah still ended up taking a job at the library to keep up appearances. For 5 years I alternated between re-reading my brother guide to the NEXUS and sending messages through the pager and getting no reply form my brother or James.

On the morning of my 18th birthday Sarah woke me up with breakfast in bed, after spending 5 years with just the 2 of us I came to think of her as more of mother than ever, she was always there for me whatever I needed, even if it was just for comfort.

 

“Good Morning little miss, have you slept well?”

 

“Good *yawn* morning Sarah, and how many times must I tell you to call me Seras, not just outside of this house.”

 

“Apologies Miss, old habits are hard to break. Happy 18th Birthday li… Seras you’re officially an adult now, although you’ve been mature enough for some time now.”

 

“Thank you Sarah, it means a lot to me to have you say that.”

 

“Now now, today of all days is not a day for sombre thoughts, eat up and ill bring you your gifts, no arguments.”

 

Without giving me a chance to retort she sped out the room, I sat quietly eating my breakfast as I thought about the day ahead, I always dreamed that my brother would be here, he was the only family I had, grandparents  died before mum was pregnant with me, dad left once she became pregnant and mum herself fell ill during pregnancy, leaving myself and my brother, once I was old enough to understand he told me what had happened, that mum wasn’t coming back and dad left, I made him promise me that day never to leave me, I guess some promises you just can’t keep. Shaking myself from my momentary depression I finished my breakfast and made my way downstairs. Sarah sat in the armchair with a great big smile; on the table was a small pile of presents neatly wrapped, I took my seat on the sofa and began unwrapping.

Among the presents on the table was, a formal dress reminiscent of bygone royalty, some inconspicuous streetwear, some makeup and some hair dye.

 

“Thank you so much Sarah, the dress looks incredible and I can’t wait to change my hair colour, I still like it but you can only go mint green for so long.”

 

“You’re very welcome Seras, but I have 2 more presents for you and they are very important. This one is from me *hands me a small but heavy box*.”

 

I meticulously unwrapped the box revealing a brand new phone, I had never had one before since I never needed one, all my of friends were within walking distance and big brother was never too far away, Sarah told me I could use it to contact her if I ever needed help, she also told me not to message my old friends as that might put them in danger, before she brought out my last present we spent a few minutes setting up the phone.

Once we had the phone set up she left the room, about 5 minutes later she returned with a large sealed cardboard box.

 

“Who’s this one from?”

 

“Open it and see!”

 

I carefully cut open the box and opened it up, on top of a massive supply of foam peanuts sat a letter addressed to me.

 

“Hello Seras

If you are reading this letter then I am most likely dead.

The reason for this being is as follows: Myself and James as you know are the ones who created the NEXUS, we had help obviously, no two people could make something on that scale, but we came up with the idea. During play testing we found bug in the system, certain items in the game gave off frequencies which were incorporated into the speech of the player who owned the item, these frequencies on their own were harmless with little to no effect on players, however when these items were brought together the frequencies combined into a harmonic. This harmonic gave the person in control of the items to completely dominate the minds of other players, it completely bypassed their brains defences and could overwrite their personalities.

James and I tried to fix things, but we couldn’t change the code without starting over from the beginning, at that point we had hired other programmers, we had sponsors, patrons, we had given a speculated release date, we couldn’t just start over or we would have lost everything. So we did the next best thing we spent weeks trying to hide our mistake, we hid the items that produce these frequencies as best we could, their locations are randomised every hour unless someone is in possession of one of them.

James and I thought we had hidden our mistake, we were wrong. One of the hired developers, a man named Tobias, found out and didn’t tell us, we only found out when he didn’t show up for work one day, we soon found out the head of one of our rival companies had been blackmailing him to spy on us and gather information, I don’t blame the man, his family was at stake but now the CEO of Endeavour knows that there exits a way to subvert and control people. Ever since then she has been trying her damnedest to take the company away from us, luckily the board of directors wouldn’t  allow it, so she’s doing the next best thing and trying to get rid of James and I, Ive already told James to go into hiding but I’m not leaving you until I absolutely have to.

I know you’ve wanted to play the NEXUS for years and I won’t stop you, but you must know that it is more than just a game, James and I each had our own reasons for for making it, mine was for you … In this box is a custom-made NEXUS headset, this custom model should be more comfortable for you among other things. I wish I was there to give you this Seras, I wish it was under better circumstances, be safe Seras … I love you.”

 

I didn’t realise I was crying until Sarah sat next to me and wiped away my tears, I couldn’t even speak so I just hugged her and sobbed, for 5 years I had desperately cling to the insignificant chance that big brother was alive, blatantly denying the fact that I had never once received a reply through the pager or received any evidence that he was still alive. When I eventually stopped crying Sarah made us some lunch, she told me that my brother didn’t tell her or myself any of this because if we were to be caught he wanted us to have plausible deniability, once dinner was finished and the dishes washed, dried and put away I scrambled up the stairs with my new NEXUS gear.

 

While changing into some comfortable clothes I took the time to examine my body, having never been sexually active in any way I didn’t really appreciate the body I had grown into, my breasts were an all natural EE (a genetic gift from my mother I am told), my thighs and butt are huge and this app sits on a 5’11 frame, my hair which I kept short was dyed an electric blue this month and my vest and shorts did nothing to hide the tattoo I had done after I bribed an artist, the tattoo depicted a serpent coiling up my right leg, up my side and back to my shoulder then coiling down my right arm. I was always fascinated by snakes, to most they were deadly but to me they were beautiful and misunderstood, Sarah would often catch me watching documentaries about them and try to stop me, “that’s not something a little girl should watch” she’d say, until big brother told her that I enjoyed them and to leave me be, he even started calling me a sneaky snake because I could move silently through the house.

 

Snapping myself out of my self indulgent gaze I put on the NEXUS headgear and lay down on my bed.


	2. Choose Your Character!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seras customises her character, what race would you choose? What skills would you priorotise?

_Exposition_

“CONNECT!”

 

As I spoke the activation phrase I was greeted with a title crawl.

 

Greetings Seras

 

Welcome to NEXUS

 

You are about to enter the world of Cadia, a prosperous world filled with millions of people, all from different races and cultures all trying to make a life for themselves. There are kingdoms and villages and small towns where the common populace reside, here they are safe from the monsters that lurk in the shadows of the world, you will soon find though that depending on your choices the monsters may be more preferable than the normal population. Your objective is whatever you make it, make friends with the millions of other players, became famous or infamous in the eyes of the in game characters or perhaps search for the 20 lost rings of the old gods who created this world and take your place on the new pantheon, the choice is yours.

 

But for now a more important question would be, what do you look like?

 

Once the text had vanished from view I was presented with a highly detailed character customisation menu.

 

The first category was race:

 

** Humans **

**Description:** The most common race of citizen in the world of Cadia, humans are resilient and adaptable creatures, capable of learning a great many skills at a fast rate, they may not start off very strong but things change.

 

**Base Skills:**

_Fast Learner – all non-magic skills require less training to learn and improve._

_Quick Recovery – if no damage is received for 20 seconds gain increased healing speed._

**Alignment:** Although humans are the dominant species in the world, they are thought to be weak by the other races and will often be treated unfairly if respect is not earned. Despite this humans are extremely proud of their accomplishments and have great respect for those who accomplish great deeds, they also recognise the need for aid when necessary. All four human kingdoms get on well with one another despite their differences, citizens from one kingdom are always welcome in one of the the other three so long as they aren’t wanted criminals or banished.

 

**Variations:**

Northmen – Originating from the northern kingdom, these people are more resistant to colder temperatures and have higher HP at the price of less magical affinity.

 

Eastmen – Heralding from the eastern kingdom, these people are less affected by high temperatures and are proficient at crafting, however they are easily influenced by mind manipulation.

 

Westmen – Coming from the western kingdom these people like the eastmen are resilient to warmer temperatures but are well versed in warfare, because of this they are less friendly to the other races even other humans, this results in difficulty gaining quests from other races and kingdoms.

 

Southmen – Situated in the southern kingdom, the southmen can survive in much colder temperatures and are adept sailors due to the kingdom being on an island however, the citizens of the southern kingdom have even less magical affinity than the northmen.

 

** Elves **

 

 **Description:** Thought to be the most beautiful of the races inhabiting Cadia, elves are tall, regal and athletic beings who are known for their beauty and grace, skilled with a bow and adept with magic elves are revered by humans and thought little of by dwarves.

 

**Base Skills:**

_Magical aptitude – All elves require less training to learn spells and magical skills._

_Enhanced perception – Elves have an increased awareness about them, being able to sense magic and both see and hear over long distances._

**Alignment:** Elves are fiercely proud of their own race and while they think lower of dwarves and humans, their shared distrust of the more barbaric races keeps them aligned. Humans often think of elves as higher beings and therefore treat them with respect however dwarves will often treat them unfairly as they see them as prissy and stuck up. Although elves are very prideful they are also very discriminative, not only to other races but also to their own kind.

 

**Variations:**

High elves – located in the vast city of Menel, the high elves are generally thought to be woven royalty, they were the first elves to appear and like all elves live indefinitely. High elves in particular have high magical affinity and are very knowledgeable, they are also however pretentious and zealous, while admired for their elegance and beauty they are also despised for their arrogance, this means they are incapable of learning skills they perceive to be beneath them (forging, gathering, simple crafting etc.)

 

Wood elves – residing in the forest of Calenbar the wood eleven are a benevolent race of elves that believe all races on Cadia are equal and hope that one day the races can set aside their differences, the wood elves are excellent healers and proficient weavers, they are however naïve and while their mana pool is large they have little HP.

 

Drows/Dark elves – making their home in Aglarond (glittering caves) the dark elves are contrary to popular belief benevolent to some extent. A large group of high elves were abducted by an evil sorcerer who experimented on them using black magic, this exposure corrupted their appearance, giving them skin as dark as night, hair that shone like moonlight and eyes that burned red, when they escaped and returned to Menel they were turned away, forced to find a new home. Now they are thriving, they have a higher magical affinity for dark magic and are more resistant to poison and mind manipulation however, their abilities are lessened during the day.

 

** Dwarves **

 

 **Description:** Dwarves are a tenacious race of short stocky individuals, they are immensely proud of their achievements and are incredibly stubborn. Dwarves are master craftsmen and forgers being able to refine the most basic of materials into works of art, unfortunately due to their short stature they are not as athletic as the other races, they have low stamina and prefer to block than dodge they are also very boisterous and clumsy therefore making them ill suited for stealth. All dwarves share a weakness to poisons and alcohol, their size allowing the affects to take hold quicker.

 

**Base skills:**

_Crafting (expert) – Able to create high quality items from any available materials._

_Forging (expert) – Able to forge high quality armour and weapons from most ores/metals._

**Alignment:** although known to be very prideful, dwarves are often very welcoming to those they perceive as friends or possible allies, they are also however, very hostile to their enemies often preferring to kill them rather than reason with them.

 

**Variations:**

Mountain Dwarves – The dwarves that dwell in mountains are known to be skilled miners and are often wealthy from the treasures they gather, they also have excellent vision in dark or dim lighting.

 

Hill Dwarves – Dwarves that make their homes and cities in hills are known to be very social and jolly people, they like their mountain dwelling relatives are skilled miners and craftsmen, but hill dwarves are natural hagglers, able to buy anything for a cheaper price with enough skill.

 

** Druids **

 

 **Description:** Druids are protectors of the forests, their aura prompts plants to sprout and grow and they are naturally skilled healers, they also wield devastating nature based magics. Druids are known to be very humble and cooperative, as long as a person does not harm the area the druid is responsible for they will treat them with kindness and respect. Naturally druids are exceedingly weak to fire bases attacks and cannot heal from them effectively, they also are incapable of wielding conventional weapons such as swords, spears, bows etc.

 

**Base skills:**

_Nourish – Able to grow any familiar non tainted plant almost instantly._

_Natures Blessing – Able to talk to non hostile animals._

**Alignment:** Although druids are kind and friendly beings they do not concern themselves with the problems of other races, preferring to keep to themselves and tend to their groves. A Druid can be a powerful ally or a dangerous enemy but only if the druid in question seems action necessary to defend its home.

 

**This race has no variations.**

** Werebeasts **

 

 **Description:** Werebeasts are members of of other races with the ability to transform into an animal form either partially or completely, they are however classified as their own race as it is possible to be born a werebeast, not just become one. It is impossible to tell if a person is a werebeast or not or even what type of werebeast they are until they transform. Players can choose to be a werebeast but what variation they become is random.

 

**Base skills:**

_Shapeshift – Able to transform partially or completely into an animal form._

_Animal sense – Able to sense danger seconds before it presents itself._

**Alignment:** Werebeasts are always loyal to their primary race first, unless they have been ostracised from them in which case they hold no loyalties. Most werebeasts when in normal form are approachable and often kind, however when in animal form they are more aggressive.

 

**Possible Variations:**

Werewolf – A common werebeast with the ability to transform into half human and half wolf, skilled individuals may transform fully into a wolf. The werewolf form grants a large boost to damage, speed, strength and reflexes however they like all werebeast are weakened by silver, also werewolves in particular are very vicious in their animal forms.

 

Berserker – A more rare werebeast, these individuals may transform into half human half bear, skilled individuals may transform fully into a bear. The berserker form grants a massive boost to damage, health and endurance however they like all werebeast are weakened by silver, berserkers enter a rage for the first 10 seconds after they transform, attacking anything within range. Once the rage passes they are largely in control.

 

Werecat – The most common werebeast, werecats can transform into half human half cat, skilled individuals may transform fully into a cat. The werecat form grants a huge boost to agility and perception however they like all werebeast are weakened by silver, also when in animal form a werecat is attracted to shiny objects.

 

Harpy – Harpies are werebeasts that can transform into half human half bird, skilled individuals may transform fully into a bird. When in harpy form the character has the ability to fly for a limited amount of time however they like all werebeast are weakened by silver, harpies are also notoriously frail when in animal form having low HP in exchange for increased mobility and damage.

 

** Vampires **

**Description:** Vampires, like werebeasts, are members of other races, vampires however require no sustenance other than blood from a living being. Vampires are known to have improved strength, speed, reflexes and senses but only when not in direct sunlight, when vampires are within direct sunlight their abilities are severely diminished. Vampires have a regular appearance, the only difference being their fangs and red tinted eyes.

 

**Base skills:**

_Enthral – Able to hypnotise weaker characters to do its bidding until the hypnosis is removed or broken._

_Dead speak – Able to converse with the undead._

**Alignment:** Most vampires are simply trying to survive and not attract unnecessary attention, if confronted they are likely to try and escape. If befriended they can be powerful allies however they have recently come to be seen as evil and are generally distrusted, resulting in a sour relationship with most races.

 

**This race has no variations.**

** Driders **

****

**Description:** Driders were once dark elves who delved too deeply into dangerous dark magics and were physically corrupted, they retained the human half from the waist up but below was transformed into the abdomen and legs of a giant spider. Just like the dark eleven they once were they have a high affinity towards dark magic which was further increased by their corruption, they also thrive in darkness, becoming stronger and faster while being severely weaker when exposed to light. All driders are venomous, being able to infect venom into prey in order to neutralise it.

 

**Base skills:**

_Silent killer – Able to move silently at will._

_Disguise – Able to take on the form of a normal dark elf for a brief length of time._

**Alignment:** The drider race is disliked by most other races as they are seen to be corrupt beings and therefore evil, it is possible however to prove that some driders are in fact hospitable.

 

**This race has no variations.**

** Lamias **

 

 **Description:** Lamias are a race of people that are half human/elven half snake. Long ago a group of varying elves and humans began to worship a serpent deity, the deity was known to be very generous to those worshipers who devoted themselves to it, deciding to bestow upon them a form befitting of its servants. Unfortunately the other races condemned those who worshiped the snake deity as blasphemers and refused to treat with them. Over time the reason for their ostracisation was forgotten and people simply feared them because of their form and power. Lamias, like regular snakes eat prey whole and can be sustained by a large meal for months depending on the size of the prey, they are also ectothermic and therefore sluggish in colder temperatures. All lamias are venomous, being able to infect venom into prey in order to neutralise it.

 

**Base skills:**

_Silent killer – Able to move silently at will._

_Disguise – Able to take on the form of a normal human or elf for a brief length of time._

**Alignment:**  Lamias were once thought to be demon worshippers and therefore evil, over time their reputation has changed to that of mysterious monsters capable of swallowing men whole, though very few lamia’s have been sighted in recent years.

 

**This race has no variations.**

** Halflings **

 

 **Description:** Halflings are essentially humans but only grow to around 4ft maximum, they are a peaceful race adept at farming and cooking and are very friendly to others, they are also however easily startled and therefore will likely run at the sight of more monstrous races.

 

**Base skills:**

_Cooking (master) – Able to make complex and delicious dishes from any ingredients._

_Farming (expert) – Able to farm most crops efficiently._

**Alignment:** Halflings are very friendly with most all of the other races, they have little issues with werebeasts and vampires so long as they don’t disrupt their communities and although they fear lamias and driders they will not attack them.

 

**This race has no variations.**

I knew exactly which race I was going to pick from the get go but it was nice to refresh myself on what races I would encounter within Cadia. I promptly selected my race to be lamia and was presented with another sub menu.

 

_You have selected your race to be lamia, a monstrous yet beautiful race that have been blessed by the snake deity Anguis. Lamias are very strong and intimidating while also being alluring, they have surprisingly high magical affinity and can be quite seductive when need be. Unfortunately due their cold blooded nature they become sluggish and fatigued in cold climates, having reduced movement speed and reaction times, this effect can be lessened through armour/items and skills but not avoided. Do you still wish to be a lamia?_

Selecting yes I was then asked if my upper half would be an elf or human, deciding to pick elf because who plays a fantasy game and stays human, I could choose between being a high elf, wood elf or dark elf, feeling particularly nonconformist I chose dark elf. Next another dialogue box appeared asking if I wanted to use my real body’s dimensions or select my own, not wanting to wait any longer I selected to use my IRL dimensions. An image of my character appeared on the right hand side of my display, there sat an onyx skinned upper body with EE tits, shining silver hair and burning red eyes connected to a massive snake tail with pitch black scales and a grey underbelly, I immediately saw another reason why the game had an 18+ rating, my character preview was completely naked. The customisation menu (now to the left of my character) now asked me to allocate skill points.

 

A list of skills appeared with detailed descriptions; the skills were as follows.

 

** Neutral skills **

 

 **Swordsman** – This skill determines how well a player can wield a sword, affecting things such as damage dealt, type of swords that can be used, chance to miss and how long the sword will last before breaking or becoming damaged.

 

 **Archer** – This skill determines a players proficiency with bows, training invested in this skill results in greater accuracy, arrow speed, draw speed, more usable types of bow and types of arrows, also affected is the durability of the bow.

 

 **Axeman** – This skill determines a players expertise with axes, this skill affects things like damage, dexterity, durability and types of axes that can be used.

 

 **Melee** – This skill determines the strength and accuracy of melee attacks while also dictating the kinds of melee weapons that can be used (not including swords and axes).

 

 **Magic** – This skill determines a players ability to cast spells, it also determines the power, accuracy and complexity of spells a player can cast.

 

 **Farming** – This skill determines what crops a player can farm as well as how long they take to grow.

 

 **Cooking** – This skill determines what recipes a player can cook.

 

 **Tracking** – This skill determines how well and how far a player can track another person.

 

 **Fishing** – This skill determines the kind of fish a player can catch as well as the quality of fishing rod they can use.

 

 **Perception** – This skill determines how well a player can evaluate their surroundings.

 

 **Agility** – This skill determines how fast a player can move and how long they can move at speed for as well as the chance to dodge attacks.

 

 **Sailor** – This skill determines a players ability to sail a ship, the more training invested in this skill the bigger and more complicated boats can be sailed.

 

 **Beastmaster** – This skill determines a players ability to tame creatures, training this skill allows players to tame bigger and more powerful creatures. (This skill has no affect on animals raised from birth by the player)

 

 **Blacksmith** – This skill determines a players ability to forge weapons and armour, investing in this skill allows the player to forge better weapons and armour.

 

 **Crafting** – This skill determines the quality and complexity of items a player can craft, training this skill results in higher quality crafted items and the ability to craft more complex items.

 

** Class Skills **

 

 **Envenomate** – This skill allows a lamia to inject venom into prey by biting them, upgrading this skill will result in more potent venom and stronger fangs to penetrate armour.

 

 **Chemosense** – This skill allows a lamia to use their forked tongue to taste scent particles in the air, thereby allowing them to tell if prey has been in the area, training this skill will allows the lamia to discern how long-ago prey was in the area and which direction it went.

 

 **Disguise** – This skill allows a lamia to take on the form of a normal human or elf for a brief length of time. Upgrading this skill will allow the player to remain disguised for longer periods of time and be harder to distinguish between normal humans/elves.

 

_More class skills to be unlocked as level increases._

** Non-Upgradable Skills **

****

**Silent Killer** – This skill allows lamias to move silently as long as this skill is active.

 

Each skill had a slider next to them with 0/1000 indicated. At the top of the skill menu it said 100 available skill points, and below it said, “There is no level cap in the NEXUS, as a result of this only 100 skill points will be awarded upon each level up.”

 

With that in mind I began to think of what I wanted to allocate my skill points to, I knew from my years of research that like most MMO’s the storyline was PvE (player vs environment) and only served to get you up to the max level and give you some starting gear for endgame dungeons. With this knowledge in mind I allocated 50 points into Archer and 50 points into Magic. I knew that with the lower half of a snake the Swordsman skill would be less than useful, with my meagre beginning skill points allocated, the skills menu was replaced with a keyboard, the text above it read “Oops almost forgot, what would you like your character to be called? It is **highly recommended** that you not use your real name as that just makes you more of a target.

 

I knew exactly what it meant, if you used your real name, it just made it infinitely easier for others to teach you down both inside and out of the NEXUS, with that in mind I set my name to 大蛇丸(Daijamaru) with any luck anyone looking for me will look at me character name and think I’m foreign. Once my name had been set the last dialogue screen appeared.

 

**Are you ready to enter the NEXUS?**

**Dive!            Maybe Later**

With my heart set I selected dive.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment, whether it be constructive criticism or just your thoughts on the story.


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